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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — to breed
  3. face — part of the head
  4. ground — the earth
  5. band — a ring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — finally
  11. ground — crushed
  12. last — final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. band — a music group
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. last — to go on
  17. mate — a partner
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. ground — a position

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com